kuku

From Persian کوکو (kuku).

kuku (countable and uncountable, plural kukus)

1. An Iranian dish somewhat resembling a quiche or omelette.

• kookoo

Borrowed from Japanese くく (kuku, onomatopoeia for the sound of laughter).

kuku

1. (fandom slang, chiefly in translations of Japanese works) Alternative form of kukuku (onomatopoeia for sinister laughter).

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh.

kuku

1. (anatomy) nail (on fingers and toes)

Onomatopoeic.

kuku

1. mourn
2. The sound of an owl singing.

kuku

1. (Mpakwithi) maternal grandfather
2. (Mpakwithi) paternal aunt

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 186

Onomatopoeic, imitation of the bird’s call. Compare Spanish cuco, English cuckoo, Catalan cucut, Dutch koekoek, Russian кукушка (kukuška) etc.

• IPA^(key): /kuku/ [ku.ku]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uku, -u
• Hyphenation: ku‧ku

kuku anim

1. cuckoo
2. hidden, lurking

• “kuku”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “kuku”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

From Proto-Philippine *kukuh, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

• Hyphenation: ku‧ku
• IPA^(key): /ˈkuku/ [ˈku.ku]

kuku

1. alternative form of kuko (“nails (fingers and toes)”)

• Hyphenation: ku‧ku
• IPA^(key): /kuʔˈku/ [kuʔˈku]

kùku

1. alternative form of kuko (“chin”)

From Proto-Malayic *kuku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

• IPA^(key): /ku.ku/

kuku

1. (anatomy) nail (on fingers and toes)

kuku

1. (Internet slang) alternative form of 矻矻 (kūkū, “busy”)

   kuku自拍  ―  kūkū zìpāi  ―  taking selfies all the time

• IPA^(key): [ˈkuku]

kuku

1. cuckoo (the sound of cuckoo)

• “kuku”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “kuku”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

From Proto-Central-Pacific *kuku, from Proto-Oceanic *kuku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

kuku

1. (anatomy) nail (on fingers and toes)

Imitative of the sound made by a cuckoo/coua.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuku/, [ˈkuku]
• Rhymes: -uku
• Syllabification^(key): ku‧ku
• Hyphenation^(key): ku‧ku

kuku

1. coua (any terrestrial bird of the genus Coua, in the cuckoo family)

• IPA^(key): /ˈkukuˣ/, [ˈkuku(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -uku
• Syllabification^(key): ku‧ku
• Hyphenation^(key): ku‧ku

kuku

1. inflection of kukkua:
   1. present active indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular present imperative
   3. second-person singular present active imperative connegative

Inherited from Proto-Malayic *kuku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

kuku

1. (anatomy) claw

• Scott, N. C. (1956) A Dictionary of Sea Dayak‎^[2], School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Inherited from Malay kuku, from Proto-Malayic *kuku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈkuku/ [ˈku.ku]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uku
• Syllabification: ku‧ku

kuku (plural kuku-kuku)

1. (anatomy) nail (on fingers and toes)
2. (anatomy, loosely) claw; a curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird

   Synonym: cakar

3. claw; a mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting

   Synonym: cakar

4. (anatomy) hoof; the tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering
5. (figurative, rare) synonym of kekuasaan

• “kuku” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

kuku

1. Rōmaji transcription of くく

• Carakan: ꦏꦸꦏꦸ
• Roman: koekoe (dated)

From Old Javanese kuku.

kuku (krama ngoko kuku, krama inggil kanaka)

1. (anatomy) nail

• The Linguistic Center of Yogyakarta (2011) “kuku”, in Kamus Basa Jawa (Bausastra Jawa) [Javanese Language Dictionary (Javanese Dictionary)] (in Javanese), 2nd edition, Yogyakarta: Kanisius, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): /ˈkukuʔ/ [ˈkuː.xuʔ]
• Hyphenation: ku‧ku

kúkû

1. cough

Compare Tagalog kuko.

• IPA^(key): /kʊˈkuʔ/ [kʊˈxuʔ]
• Hyphenation: ku‧ku

kukû

1. fingernail; toenail

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS₁.

kuku

1. claw

• Laboya in Austronesian Comparative Dictionary

kukú

1. (anatomy) nail (on fingers and toes)

From Proto-Malayic *kuku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

• IPA^(key): /kuku/
• Rhymes: -uku, -ku, -u

• Audio (Malaysia):

  (file)

kuku (Jawi spelling کوکو, plural kuku-kuku)

1. (anatomy) nail (on fingers and toes)
2. (anatomy) hoof; the tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering
3. (anatomy, loosely) claw; a curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird

   Synonym: cakar

4. claw; a mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting

   Synonym: cakar

5. (figurative, rare) synonym of kekuasaan

• Indonesian: kuku

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “کوکو koekoe”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 95
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “کوکو kuku”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 549
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “kuku”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, pages 620-1

• “kuku” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

From Proto-Oceanic *kuku “finger or toe nail” (compare with Samoan ʻuʻu “nail”, Tongan kuku “to grasp, to grip, to clutch”, Fijian kuku) from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kuku “ibid.” (compare with Malay kuku, Tagalog kuko).^[1]

Broadening in sense of “pinching” > “attraction” observable in the same language family e.g. Malay cuit (e.g. mencuit hati).

kuku

1. pincers, tweezers, any tool or item that nips or pinches
2. (archaic) finger or toe nail, alternative form of matikuku
3. ( ~ o te manawa) attraction

kuku (passive kukua)

1. to nip, to pinch

   Synonyms: kini, kuti

2. to hold (of one's breath)
3. to clench (of one's fist)

   Synonym: kumu

4. to shut (of one's eyes)

   Synonym: kupi

5. to draw together and close an opening of something

   Synonyms: kukumu, kuti

From Proto-Polynesian *kuku “mussel, any Mytilidae species” (compare with Rarotongan kuku, Samoan ʻuʻu, Tongan kuku)^[1] from Proto-Oceanic *kukur “to scrape, any mussel with shells used for this purpose” from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kuDkuD “to scrape; rasp; grate” (compare with Malay kukur “to scrape [of coconut], to scratch [of itches], to rasp”, Tagalog kudkod “grating (of coconut), shaving or scraping [of ice]”).^[2]

kuku

1. to grate, to scrape – usually part of compound verbs, otherwise an alternative form of kukū

kuku

1. any type of mussel

• Williams, Herbert William (1917) “kuku”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, pages 180-1
• “kuku” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

kuku (Raguileo spelling)

1. paternal grandmother
2. grandchild

• cucu

• Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

kukú (plural kukwakin)

1. baobab, Adansonia digitata

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

kuku

1. really, truly
   • 2024 March 17, Selin Girit and Grujica Andric, “Wetin go happun to your social media accounts wen you die”, in BBC News Pidgin‎^[3]:

     "I don do am almost 20 times and notin dey happun. I no kuku get di strength contact Facebook to fix am."

     "I have messaged him almost 20 times and nothing has happened. I don't really have the strength to contact Facebook to fix it."

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh.

kuku

1. nail (anatomy)

Onomatopoeic.

• IPA^(key): /ˈku.ku/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uku
• Syllabification: ku‧ku

kuku

1. cuckoo (used to imitate the voice of a male cuckoo)

kuku n (indeclinable)

1. (childish, pathology) boo-boo (minor injury)

   Synonyms: ranka, skaleczenie

• kuku in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• kuku in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Onomatopoeic.

• IPA^(key): /kûkuː/
• Hyphenation: ku‧ku

kȕkū (Cyrillic spelling ку̏кӯ)

1. woe
2. The sound of a cuckoo singing.
3. Shout in a hide and seek game.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

kuku (Cyrillic spelling куку)

1. dative/locative singular of kuk

kuku (Cyrillic spelling куку)

1. accusative singular of kuka

• “kuku”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Borrowed from Dutch koek.

kuku

1. cake, pastry

Sundanese register set
lemes	tanggay
lemes ka sorangan	{{{les}}}
lemes ka batur	{{{leb}}}
loma	kuku
cohag	{{{co}}}

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kukuh, from Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

kuku (Sundanese script ᮊᮥᮊᮥ)

1. (anatomy) nail

From *nkʊ́kʊ́, a variant of Common Bantu *nkókó.

• (Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /ˈku.ku/
• (Kimvita) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰu.ku/

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

kuku class IX (plural kuku class X)

1. chicken, fowl

• penye kuku wengi usimwage mtama

• → Malagasy: akoho

• jogoo (“rooster”)
• kifaranga (“chick”)

kuku

1. puppy (young dog)

From Proto-Austronesian *kuSkuS.

kuku

1. (anatomy) fingernail; toenail

• IPA^(key): [kuˈku]

kuku (definite accusative kukuyu, plural kukular)

1. (child talk) female genitalia, vagina

• vajina
• am (vulgar, very rude)
• amcık (vulgar, very rude)

• IPA^(key): [kuku]

kuku

1. a life-sized figure constructed from tree branches and other natural materials, symbolically killed in the aji'choto weja'kadü ritual

• Lauer, Matthew Taylor (2005) Fertility in Amazonia: Indigenous Concepts of the Human Reproductive Process Among the Ye’kwana of Southern Venezuela‎^[4], Santa Barbara: University of California, pages 239–240: “cucu”

kukú

1. nail; claw; hoof

kuku

1. possession